- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 4 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer what the estimated cost is of the legal services provided by Shepherd and Wedderburn WS in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and Flour City International Inc. since the last invoice of 3 April 2002.
Answer
The estimated costs of current legal services being provided by Shepherd and Wedderburn in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and Flour City International Inc. is £10,000 plus outlays.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 4 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer what information has been obtained in respect of Flour City International Inc. as a result of the work carried out by Shepherd and Wedderburn WS and the agent in the USA in connection with that company; whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will place any such information in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, and whether the SPCB has any information on whether Flour City International Inc. has any assets that might be attached in recovery of the losses resulting from the insolvency of Flour City Architectural (Metals) UK Ltd.
Answer
Information has been received on Flour City International Inc. as a result of the work of the SPCB's agents. Further updated information is expected soon together with an opinion on the prospects of recovery of the additional costs being incurred by the SPCB due to the failure of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd. The SPCB will then consider the opinion and what action might be appropriate. As I stated in my letter to the member of 3 October, I will write further once reports from our agents are received. As the SPCB will be considering its legal position it is not appropriate that information forming part of that consideration be placed in the Parliament's Information Centre
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 4 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the drawings and design work supplied by Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited have been used without adaptation or change by the companies that have been awarded the relevant works packages in connection with the new Parliament building and whether there have been additional costs incurred by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in relation to any further work on these drawings and design work and, if so, what these extra costs have been.
Answer
The design work supplied by Flour City has required to be adapted since the original package has now been split into six separate trade packages. It has been estimated by the Design Team that around 95% of the drawings produced by Flour City were satisfactory or better and form the basis on which the additional design requirements are being built. Interface details generic to Flour City have been developed further, since they utilised many of their own standard details, and the additional cost for this is estimated at £117,500.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 4 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer what hourly rate or rates are charged by Shepherd and Wedderburn WS for the legal services it is providing to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Limited and Flour City International Inc.; whether there is any contract between the SPCB and Shepherd and Wedderburn WS, and whether the contract for these legal services was put out to tender.
Answer
A tendering exercise was carried to procure outsourced legal services and contracts were agreed with three firms. The services provided by Shepherd and Wedderburn in connection with Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd and Flour City International Inc. have been at the rates quoted in the contract. It would not be appropriate to divulge the competitive rates which prevail as a further tender round is likely when the current contracts expire.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicol Stephen on 1 November 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken, or will take, to ensure that one national insurance policy is obtained in order to provide cover for children participating in sport, recreational physical exercise and outdoor activity, including school excursions and foreign holidays, and whether the establishment of such a policy could effect savings for local authorities who are presently responsible for ensuring that such insurance cover exists.
Answer
Local authorities have public liability insurance cover for the extent of their own legal liability across all the services, including education, for which they are responsible. Consideration of insurance cover beyond that would be a matter for individual local authorities or for other parties involved in the provision of the activities referred to.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 1 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-29304 on 30 September 2002, how many visitors there were to the public gallery in the chamber on each (a) Wednesday and (b) Thursday that the Parliament has met since 1 September 1999 and what the average number of visitors was on these days during the periods (i) 1 September to 31 December 1999, (ii) 1 January to 31 December 2000, (iii) 1 January to 31 December 2001 and (iv) 1 January to 30 June 2002.
Answer
The information requested broken down by years is given below. Since access and egress of visitors is a continuous process it is not possible to identify total numbers in the gallery at any one time.
1 September to 31 December 1999 | 1 January to 31 December 2000 |
Number of Visitors | Number of Visitors |
Wednesday | Thursday | Wednesday | Thursday |
8/9 | 233 | 9/9 | 387 | 1/1 - 7/1 - Recess |
15/9 | 242 | 16/9 | 534 | 12/1 | 133 | 13/1 | 327 |
22/9 | 319 | 23/9 | 397 | 19/1 | 143 | 20/1 | 483 |
29/9 | 248 | 30/9 | 604 | 26/1 | 147 | 27/1 | 465 |
6/10 | 287 | 7/10 | 445 | 2/2 | 170 | 3/2 | 710 |
11/10 -22/10 - Recess | 9/2 | 154 | 10/2 | 447 |
27/10 | 384 | 28/10 | 636 | 16/2 | 349 | 17/2 | 481 |
3/11 | 235 | 4/11 | 582 | 23/2 | 218 | 24/2 | 624 |
10/11 | 194 | 11/11 | 347 | 1/3 | 171 | 2/3 | 558 |
17/11 | 267 | 18/11 | 480 | 8/3 | 102 | 9/3 | 537 |
25/11 | 300 | 26/11 | 476 | 15/3 | 209 | 16/3 | 439 |
1/12 | 198 | 2/12 | 480 | 22/3 | 297 | 23/3 | 559 |
8/12 | 269 | 9/12 | 405 | 29/3 | 73 | 30/3 | 658 |
15/12 | 89 | 16/12 | 299 | 5/4 | 631 | 6/4 | 738 |
20/12 -31/12 - Recess | 10/4 - 21/4 - Recess |
| | | | 26/4 | 205 | 27/4 | 865 |
3/5 | 258 | 4/5 | 378 |
10/5 | 266 | 11/5 | 554 |
15/5 - 2/6 - Parliament met in Glasgow |
7/6 | 237 | 8/6 | 526 |
14/6 | 262 | 15/6 | 642 |
21/6 | 346 | 22/6 | 677 |
28/6 | 214 | 29/6 | 519 |
5/7 | 242 | 6/7 | 722 |
10/7 - 1/9 Recess |
6/9 | 243 | 7/9 | 245 |
13/9 | 151 | 14/9 | 660 |
20/9 | 174 | 21/9 | 358 |
27/9 | 143 | 28/9 | 379 |
4/10 | 284 | 5/10 | 482 |
9/10 - 20/10 - Recess |
25/10 | 351 | 26/10 | 397 |
1/11 | 175 | 2/11 | 533 |
8/11 | 227 | 9/11 | 417 |
15/11 | 102 | 16/11 | 405 |
22/11 | 163 | 23/11 | 412 |
29/11 | 168 | 30/11 | 574 |
6/12 | 195 | 7/12 | 447 |
13/12 | 143 | 14/12 | 381 |
17/12 - 31/12 - Recess |
Total | 3,265 | Total | 6,072 | Total | 7,346 | Total | 17,599 |
Average | 251 | Average | 467 | Average | 216 | Average | 517 |
1 January to 31 December 2001 | 1 January to 30 June 2002 |
Number of Visitors | Number of Visitors |
Wednesday | Thursday | Wednesday | Thursday |
1/1 - 5/1 - Recess | 1/1 - 4/1 - Recess |
10/1 | 91 | 11/1 | 318 | 9/1 | 141 | 10/1 | 324 |
17/1 | 142 | 18/1 | 436 | 16/1 | 117 | 17/1 | 369 |
24/1 | 108 | 25/1 | 524 | 23/1 | 200 | 24/1 | 403 |
31/1 | 201 | 1\2 | 474 | 30/1 | 123 | 31/1 | 416 |
7/2 | 140 | 8/2 | 322 | 6/2 | 226 | 7/2 | 330 |
14/2 | 262 | 15/2 | 442 | 13/2 | 616 | 14/2 | 429 |
19/2 - 23/2 - Recess | 18/2 - 22/2 - Recess |
28/2 | 100 | 1/3 | 471 | 27/2 | 330 | 28/2 | 616 |
7/3 | 186 | 8/3 | 431 | 6/3 | 182 | 7/3 | 525 |
14/3 | 404 | 15/3 | 886 | 13/3 | 357 | 14/3 | 628 |
21/3 | 168 | 22/3 | 530 | 20/3 | 401 | 21/3 | 621 |
28/3 | 130 | 29/3 | 501 | 27/3 | 283 | 28/3 | 501 |
4/4 | 152 | 5/4 | 499 | 1\4 - 13/4 - Recess |
9/4 - 20/4 - Recess | 17/4 | 204 | 18/4 | 514 |
25/4 | 241 | 26/4 | 387 | 24/4 | 314 | 25/4 | 592 |
2/5 | 158 | 3/5 | 433 | 1/5 | 269 | 2/5 | 454 |
9/5 | 131 | 10/5 | 586 | 8/5 | 197 | 9/5 | 608 |
16/5 | 205 | 17/5 | 412 | 15/5 | 277 | 16/5 | 740 |
23/5 | 150 | 24/5 | 526 | 20/5 - 7/6 - Committee Work and Parliament meeting in Aberdeen |
30/5 | 269 | 31/5 | 357 |
6/6 | 332 | 7/6 | 113 | 12/6 | 294 | 13/6 | 464 |
13/6 | 332 | 14/6 | 510 | 19/6 | 230 | 20/6 | 671 |
20/6 | 195 | 21/6 | 605 | 26/6 | 168 | 27/6 | 621 |
27/6 | 180 | 28/6 | 361 | | | | |
2/7 - 31/8 - Recess |
5/9 | 182 | 6/9 | 340 |
12/9 | 166 | 13/9 | 542 |
19/9 | 426 | 20/9 | 604 |
26/9 | 291 | 27/9 | 570 |
3/10 | 359 | 4/10 | 682 |
8/10 - 19/10 - Recess |
24/10 | 338 | 25/10 | 707 |
31/10 | 181 | 1/11 | 746 |
7/11 | 239 | 8/11 | 603 |
14/11 | 256 | 15/11 | 504 |
21/11 | 253 | 22/11 | 608 |
28/11 | 181 | 29/11 | 821 |
5/12 | 207 | 6/12 | 681 |
12/12 | 201 | 13/12 | 392 |
19/12 | 118 | 20/12 | 226 |
24/12 - 31/12 - Recess |
Total | 7,676 | Total | 18,150 | Total | 4,929 | Total | 9,826 |
Average | 213 | Average | 504 | Average | 259 | Average | 517 |
The member may wish to know that the SPCB has already increased the planned seating capacity for press and public in the Holyrood Chamber from 200 to 267 seats, and that there will be further 275 public spaces in committee rooms as against only 53 in our temporary accommodation.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 10 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by David Steel on 1 November 2002
To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) will give a detailed breakdown of the #14.2 million landscaping costs in relation to the Holyrood Project; what cost savings the SPCB has considered, detailing which savings have been incorporated and, where cost savings were considered but not made, what the reasons were, and what cost savings the SPCB is currently considering or plans to consider in the future.
Answer
The information of the landscaping costs are as follows:
Category | £ million |
Construction | 7.7 |
Fees | 1.9 |
Land acquisition | 0.3 |
Risk and Inflation | 1.8 |
Muster Room | 0.5 |
VAT | 2.0 |
Total | 14.2 |
The SPCB and the Holyrood Project Group consider opportunities for cost savings on an on-going basis across the whole project, including savings for the landscaping development. Decisions to implement cost saving measures are taken whenever the quality of the finished product and the integrity of the architects' design concepts will not be materially compromised and are balanced against the impact on other works packages and any programme implications. The cost savings information is not collated in the detailed manner requested, and no separate exercise is being undertaken.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 07 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 30 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the waste presently disposed of at Longman landfill site, which is due to be closed from April 2003, will be disposed of in a landfill site near Peterhead and, if so, what estimate has been made of the additional haulage traffic that will use the A96 and other trunk roads in order to complete the journey from Inverness to Peterhead.
Answer
Treatment and disposal of municipal waste is the responsibility of the local authority, in this case Highland Council. The council is preparing a public private partnership (PPP) scheme as a long-term sustainable waste management solution which will be in accordance with the agreed Area Waste Plan. However, the council has informed the Executive of their intention to arrange for interim disposal of municipal waste, which is currently disposed of at Longman landfill site, in a landfill near Peterhead. The council has assessed that for this waste, traffic will amount to some 15 articulated vehicles per day.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 30 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people work in the scallop industry, broken down by fishermen, processors and others.
Answer
The Scottish Executive does not hold details of people employed in the scallop industry. There are currently 191 Scottish vessels licensed to fish for scallops, of which 102 have caught scallops in 2002 and 51 have caught scallops only.
- Asked by: Fergus Ewing, MSP for Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 October 2002
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Current Status:
Answered by Mary Mulligan on 30 October 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all research and the cost of such research into amnesic shellfish poisoning commissioned or carried out by the Food Standards Agency Scotland (FSAS).
Answer
The FSAS have advised me that the following table details all research they have carried out or commissioned into amnesic shellfish poisoning. Food Standards Agency Scotland Research into ASP
Date | Title | Purpose | Total Cost (£000) |
December 2001 to July 2002 | Measurement of ASP in King Scallops processed in Scotland | This study was designed to establish the acceptable and proportionate levels of end product testing for whole, roe-on and roe-off scallops in the tiered system. | 154 |
January 2000 to September 2003 | Phytoplankton study | Project initiated to investigate the relationship between phyoplankton and levels of ASP PSP and DSP. | 450 |